# How to read more books

> You used to read a lot, and somewhere along the way the phone took over the evenings. You do not need more willpower or a reading challenge with a hundred books. You need a fixed moment, a book you want to read and a phone in another room.

Updated 29 October 2026. Source: https://timetoread.now/how-to-read-more/

**The short answer.** Read every day at a fixed moment, and start so small that you never have to skip it: ten pages before bed is enough. Put your phone in another room for that time, or limit the apps you keep opening with **Screen Time** on an iPhone or **Digital Wellbeing** on Android. Read a book you actually want to read, and put down one that does not grab you. An audiobook on the commute counts.

## Reading more starts with a fixed moment

People who read a lot rarely have more time than anyone else. What they have is a moment in the day that belongs to the book: the train in the morning, the lunch break, the half hour before sleep. The book is already there when that moment comes, so there is nothing to decide.

Choose one moment that already happens every day and attach reading to it. After you have brushed your teeth. Once the children are in bed. As soon as you sit down on the train. A habit is easier to build on top of something you already do than in an empty slot you have to remember.

## Start with ten pages

The mistake most people make is starting big. An hour a day, fifty books this year. Then comes a busy week, the hour does not happen, and the whole plan quietly dies.

Start so small that you can never skip it: ten pages. That is about a quarter of an hour. Ten pages a day comes to more than three and a half thousand pages a year, which is a dozen ordinary novels and then some. And on most evenings, once you have read ten pages, you will want to read the eleventh.

> Ten pages every day beats a hundred pages once a month.

## Keep a book within reach

You read what is in front of you. If the book is upstairs and the phone is in your pocket, the phone wins. So make the book the easy option.

- A book on the bedside table, one in your bag, and one where you sit in the evening.
- The book you are reading face down on the sofa, open at your page, rather than back on the shelf.
- A library card. It costs nothing to join your local library, a book that disappoints simply goes back, and the cost of trying something new drops to zero.

## E-readers and audiobooks count too

An e-reader is light, holds hundreds of books and lets you read in bed without a lamp. An e-book app on your phone works too, though the rest of the phone is one swipe away.

Audiobooks turn time you cannot spend reading into reading time: the commute, the washing-up, a walk, the gym. Many UK library services lend e-books and audiobooks free through apps such as Libby and BorrowBox; ask your library which one it uses.

## Stop reading books that do not grab you

Nothing stops a reader faster than a book they feel they have to finish. It sits on the bedside table for weeks, and because it is not finished, nothing else gets started.

Give a book fifty pages. If you still have to talk yourself into picking it up, stop. Readers call this a DNF, did not finish, and it is not a failure. It is how you make room for a book you will race through. If you are not sure what to read instead, see [what book should I read next](https://timetoread.now/what-book-should-i-read/).

## Less phone: first without any settings

The simplest tool costs nothing: distance. A phone in another room is picked up far less than a phone on the arm of the sofa. Before you change any settings, try this for a week.

- Charge your phone outside the bedroom, and use a cheap alarm clock.
- Turn off notifications for every app that is not a person talking to you.
- Move the apps you open without thinking off your home screen, into a folder on the last page.

## On an iPhone: Screen Time

**Screen Time** shows where your time goes and can limit apps. Open Settings and tap Screen Time; if it is off, turn on App & Website Activity first. In iOS 27, according to [Apple's iPhone User Guide](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphb0c7313c9/ios), there are two tools for this:

- **Screen Time Schedule** sets times of day, such as nine to ten in the evening, during which only the kinds of apps you choose are available. People you must always be able to reach go under Always Allowed.
- **Time Allowances** limit how long you can spend each day on a category, such as Social Media, Games or Entertainment.

On iOS 26 and earlier these were called Downtime and App Limits. Separately, **Focus**, under Settings, silences notifications at set times, and a Sleep Focus can follow your bedtime.

## On Android: Digital Wellbeing

On Android the equivalent is **Digital Wellbeing**, in Settings. According to [Google's Android Help](https://support.google.com/android/answer/9346420?hl=en-GB), it has three tools that help a reader:

- **App timers** set how long you may spend on an app each day. App timers reset at midnight.
- **Focus mode** pauses the apps you choose: while it is on, you cannot use them and you get no notifications from them.
- **Bedtime mode** quietens your phone at night on a schedule.

Menus differ between phone makers, and Samsung's look different again. If you cannot find it, search Settings for ‘wellbeing’, ‘focus’ or ‘bedtime’.

The steps for iPhone and Android were checked on Apple's and Google's own support pages on 29 October 2026. Menus change with every update; if yours looks different, check the maker's own page.

In the Time to Read app you start from the book itself. You choose a book from your Reading shelf and a [reading session](https://timetoread.now/#session) of 15, 45 or 60 minutes. Until the time is up, the apps you have set aside are blocked. If you like, your own Spotify plays along. Outside a reading session nothing is blocked.

## Putting the phone down before bed

The last half hour of the day is often the half hour of the phone. It is also the best time to read: the day is done and nobody needs anything from you. To swap one for the other:

1. Choose a fixed time when the phone goes away, say half an hour before you want to sleep.
2. Put it on charge outside the bedroom, and keep an alarm clock by the bed.
3. Let Bedtime mode on Android or a Sleep Focus on your iPhone switch on at that time.
4. Leave your book on your pillow or bedside table, open at the bookmark.
5. Read until your eyes are heavy. Even if that is after three pages: they count.

## A reading goal you can keep

A goal for the year helps, as long as it is honest. Count what you read last year and add a few. A goal you reach in November feels better than one you abandon in March. If you love long books, count pages instead of titles, or you will avoid the thick ones because they count as only one.

In Time to Read you set a reading goal for the year and see your streak of days in a row, and you earn seals by reading, which cannot be bought. For other apps that keep track, see [which reading tracker app suits you](https://timetoread.now/reading-tracker-app/). And when your list of books to read has grown longer than your year, read [what a TBR is](https://timetoread.now/what-does-tbr-mean/) and how to choose from it.

## Frequently asked questions

### How can I read more books?

Pick a fixed moment every day, such as before bed or on the train, and start with ten pages. Keep a book within reach wherever you spend time, put your phone in another room while you read, and stop reading books that do not grab you. Small and daily beats big and occasional.

### How many pages a day should I read?

Start with ten. That takes about a quarter of an hour, and it adds up to more than a dozen average-length books a year. Once ten pages is a habit, you will often read more without trying; the point is that the minimum is small enough never to skip.

### Do audiobooks count as reading?

For reading more, yes. An audiobook turns the commute, the washing-up and a walk into reading time. Your library lends audiobooks free through apps such as Libby or BorrowBox, depending on your library service.

### How do I stop picking up my phone when I read?

Put it out of reach, in another room if you can. If that does not work, use your phone's own tools: on an iPhone, Screen Time can limit categories of apps at set times; on Android, Focus mode in Digital Wellbeing pauses the apps you choose and their notifications.

### What is a reading goal I can actually keep?

Count what you read last year and add a few. A goal you reach in November feels better than one you abandon in March. If you love long books, count pages rather than titles, so a thick book does not count against you.

---

**A reading session that keeps your phone quiet.** In Time to Read you choose a book from your Reading shelf and a reading session of 15, 45 or 60 minutes. Until the time is up, the apps you have set aside are blocked. Seven days free, then a subscription you can cancel any time; the price is shown in the app. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/time-to-read-book-club/id6799412901. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.timetoread.app